Thunderbolt man asks thieves to return his late wife's ashes

Photo provided by Robinson family. Grant Robinson, of Thunderbolt, is pictured with his late wife Patrica Robinson in this undated photo. An urn containing Patricia's ashes were stolen Wednesday from Grant's home.

Photo provided by Thunderbolt Police Department. This mahogeny urn that contained the ashes of Patricia Robinson, who died in December, was stolen from her husband's Thunderbolt house on Wednesday. Grant Robinson is pleading with the theifs to return the ashes of his late wife.

Corey Dickstein/Savannah Morning News Grant Robinson comforts his daughter Kate Robinson Friday evening in Thunderbolt as they talk about a burglary at Grant's Thunderbolt home Wednesday morning in which the ashes of Patricia Robinson, Grant's late wife and Kate's mother, were stolen.

He doesn’t care who kicked in the front door of his Thunderbolt home, ransacked the rooms inside and stole his computers, jewelry and a television set.

Grant Robinson only asks that they return one invaluable item that was stolen Wednesday morning from his house on Mechanic’s Avenue: A mahogany box that contained the ashes of his late wife, Patricia.

“I feel like someone’s torn my right arm off and ripped my heart out,” Robinson said. “It was really hard to lose her once, and then to lose her now twice — it’s really tough. It’s awful.”

When he came home from work Wednesday afternoon to eat lunch and let his dog out, Robinson immediately knew something was amiss.

The front door, made of steel, had been smashed and bent. The inside of his house looked like a disaster zone, but the reality didn’t sink in until he noticed the heavy, locked box that had been sitting on his bureau was missing.

“That was pretty much the final blow,” he said. “I don’t care at all about all the other stuff; I just want my wife’s remains back, and maybe her wedding ring that was also in the box.”

The Robinsons were married nearly 40 years before Patricia died in December. The couple, who moved to Thunderbolt about 2.5 years ago, was inseparable. They were truly soulmates, Robinson said Friday evening just outside of Thunderbolt City Hall where he met with reporters, hoping that publicizing the theft might lead someone to return his wife’s remains.

He grew emotional as he described Patricia, nicknamed “The Provider,” because she cared for everyone else ahead of herself.

Trying to find the right words, Robinson peered down at his left hand and crossed his index and middle fingers.

“We were like that,” he said. “She was just one of those incredibly beautiful people. We did everything together, from building boats to weeding the garden.”

He’d planned one last, special outing with his wife’s remains to take place in August, a memorial service with all her family and friends on a small island off the coast of St. Augustine, Fla., where the couple had lived for more than two decades and raised their two children.

Now, he questions it ever happening.

“She wanted me to spread her ashes there,” he said. “I figured if we did it in August, it would give her family in New England time to come down and have a big deal for her. Now, I’ve got nothing to spread. I feel like I’ve let her down. It’s just very, very difficult.”

While burglaries are rare in Thunderbolt, they occur from time to time, said police Capt. James Pierce. The break-in at the Robinson home was the first reported to Thunderbolt police in more than a month.

His investigators, Pierce added, were working hard to find the people responsible for the incident.

“He (Grant Robinson) doesn’t care a bit about the stuff that was stolen, but having his wife’s ashes stolen, that’s just awful,” Pierce said. “It’s a big, expensive-looking box, and I’m sure (the suspects) thought there was gold or valuables in it.”

The captain asked anyone with information about the urn, the ashes or the burglary to contact Thunderbolt police at 912-354-3818 or CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020.

The Robinsons said they wouldn’t ask any questions. They even offered not to press charges against the responsible parties. They just want their loved one’s remains back, said Kate Robinson, Grant and Patricia’s daughter who drove up from her St. Augustine home as soon as she was told what had happened.

The thought of her mother’s ashes in a stranger’s possession or tossed aside like garbage is nearly impossible for her to stomach, she said, especially so soon after her death.

“That’s her. That’s my mother,” Kate Robinson said, addressing whoever stole the urn. “You have my mother with you. How would you feel if that was your mother or if that was your kid?

“No questions asked. If you have them, if you threw them out of a car window, just let us know where you threw them so we can go and retrieve my mother’s ashes, so we can lay her to rest.”

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It is heartbreaking for some worthless thief or thieves to have stolen Mrs. Robinson's ashes. Undoubtedly the scum thought there were items to sell or pawn in the box. It would be fantastic if the box could be returned to the family, but by now, the scum have probably thrown it out. I truly hope they are mortified and scared $^@*less now knowing what was in the box. Karma will come around for this.